The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced on December 4 that it has updated its Policy Manual to shorten the validity period of Employment Authorization Documents (EADs) for several immigrant categories, citing the need for more frequent vetting and national security screening.
Under the revised policy, the maximum validity period for initial and renewal work permits will be reduced from five years to 18 months for a number of categories, including refugees admitted to the United States; individuals granted asylum; those granted withholding of deportation or removal; individuals with pending asylum or withholding of removal applications; and Applicants for adjustment of status (green cards) under Section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The agency said in a media release that the change applies to applications for employment authorization that are pending or filed on or after December 5, 2025.
The decision marks a reversal of the five-year EAD validity period established under the Biden administration, which aimed to reduce backlogs and ease administrative burdens for asylum seekers and adjustment applicants.
The new policy would mean starting Friday, those who have applied for a green card through employment (Form I-485) will get work permits that are valid for only 18 months instead of 5 years.
READ: How DHS’s ending automatic EAD extensions is affecting people on the ground (November 8, 2025)
This likely also applies to Advance Parole travel documents, which are often issued together with EADs.
“It would not be a big deal if renewals were processed timely. Unfortunately, it just creates more filings, which increases the backlog of cases, which increases processing times,” immigration attorney Emily Neumann, Managing Partner at Reddy Neumann Brown PC, based in Houston, posted on her X handle. “This coupled with the elimination of the automatic EAD renewal for pending applications will just cause people to have to stop work for no good reason.”
Since renewal processing already takes a long time, the shorter validity means applicants will have to file renewal applications more often.
That means more paperwork for everyone—for both applicants and USCIS—which can make the backlog and delays even worse.
Adding to the problem, automatic EAD extensions for people waiting on renewals are being eliminated, so many applicants could temporarily lose their ability to work while their new cards are still being processed.
USCIS said the updated policy will allow for “more frequent vetting” of individuals authorized to work in the United States, a move the agency argues will help detect fraud and identify individuals who may pose security risks.
“Reducing the maximum validity period for employment authorization will ensure that those seeking to work in the United States do not threaten public safety or promote harmful anti-American ideologies,” said USCIS Director Joseph Edlow in the agency’s statement.
“After the attack on National Guard service members in our nation’s capital by an alien who was admitted into this country by the previous administration, it’s even more clear that USCIS must conduct frequent vetting of aliens,” he added.
The revised policy also implements changes required under H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025.
As mandated by the new law, the validity period for EADs issued to certain other categories will be limited to one year or the end of the authorized parole or Temporary Protected Status (TPS) period, whichever is shorter. These include:
- Aliens paroled as refugees,
- Individuals granted TPS,
- Aliens granted parole,
- Applicants with pending TPS requests, and
- The alien spouse of an entrepreneur parole recipient.
USCIS first announced implementation of the new legislative requirements in a Federal Register notice published on July 22, 2025. The rule applies to any Form I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) filed or pending on or after that date.
The new policy signals the Trump administration’s emphasis on national security vetting and tightened immigration controls, part of a broader effort to reexamine and restrict humanitarian and parole-based immigration programs.
USCIS stated that the shorter EAD duration will “help deter fraud and detect aliens with potentially harmful intent so they can be processed for removal.”
The update is expected to impact tens of thousands of immigrants who rely on long-term work authorization while awaiting decisions on their asylum, TPS, or green card applications.